End To Beginning
by Glimare
Summary: Two shot: The hours shortly after Kratos lost his family, and the hours shortly before the Oracle arrives to Colette. Just how miserable is Kratos without his family? And how much can he hope that one boy in red is the one he lost? Plus a little Yuan.
1. Meaningless

**Disclaimer:** Oh how I wish I owned this series, but that's impossible. Sorry peoples, don't own TOS.

There was this story I wanted to do but could not get it started right or continue it properly. Would have been called 'Becoming Human' but I failed to make it work. Only out together a few chapters, mostly the end. I think of it as kinda cannon, but this is fanfiction. Nothing's really cannon, just close.

Anywho, these two would-be chapters take place after Anna, Lloyd, and Noishe 'die'. Yuan is a lot more sympathetic and Mithos cruel than they probably should be, but *shrug* did my best. I had Kratos' time away from Cruxis longer than many others so don't bark at me about timing. Hope you like!

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><p><strong><em>Meaningless<em>**

The world just slipped by Kratos as Pronyma's dolls dragged him through the halls of Vinheim to Mithos Yggdrasil's throne room. He didn't have the energy or will to fight, to move or feel anymore. In one hand he held Anna's locket and the other Lloyd's shoe, the remnants of the family he loved so much... and lost mere hours before. His sword was being carried by someone, but it hardly mattered. He had no one to give it to now. All he had was an empty shoe and a locket.

Eventually the dragging came to a halt and he was let go. It wasn't rough or a flop, they just let him fall to his knees, back into the position they found him in. His glazed over eyes, dry from tears, stayed downward, eventually resting on the objects in his hands as they found their way to his lap. Above him half-elves conversed, but he didn't care.

Nothing mattered anymore. His world, no matter what he did, was doomed to crumble and fall. He only wanted one thing now. Just one thing...

"Welcome home Kratos," a familiar voice spoke above him. "Care to explain why you left me sixteen years ago?"

There was no answer. The broken man just stared at his hands. It infuriated the voice a bit. "Why did you interfere with Kvar's experiments Kratos?"

Silence yet again. The name should have sparked fury, hatred so strong it'd block out the sun. It didn't even penetrate his skull. "Why did you leave me? Explain yourself Kratos! Why did you leave me for some human tramp?!"

"Grave." It was barely a murmur, but the spell was cast and the man in front of him had to leap out of the way. Kratos though didn't move an inch. He didn't care. Anything could happen to him, anything at all, and it would make no difference to him. But to call Anna, his wife, a tramp, was worthy of some retaliation. You did not speak ill of the dead, particularly around those who loved them.

"Impudence!" Pronyma raised her hand to cast a lightning spell as soon as the ground settled, but Yggdrasil glided over to him and backhanded him to the floor instead. He didn't get up.

"That... was a foolish mistake Kratos," the blond stated lightly, standing before his old ally. "You do not strike out blindly. That was your first lesson to me. What could possibly be your reason?

"Get up." Yggdrasil loomed over the still form staring out into space before him. The human merely laid there, not caring if he was hurt any more. "I said get up!"

"Lord Yggdrasil," the woman started cautiously, "Lord Kratos has been like this since Kvar's attack. He won't even stand on his own."

"I see..." Kneeling down, he took his youthful form and looked straight into his old friend's eyes. Lifeless. Hopeless. There wasn't even the will to live in them. Never had he seen this man so broken before. The very best humanity had to offer, broke to pieces after four thousand years of life. Sighing slightly, Mithos snapped his fingers and the dolls from earlier pulled the man into an upright position. He didn't fight and he didn't help, much like a doll himself now. "How pathetic..."

Sighing to himself, the child grabbed Kratos' chin and forced him to look at him. Even then they were vacant. "Oh Kratos... what am I going to do with you? For leaving me and betraying all these years together, I should punish you dearly. But how? Really, I think you've suffered more than enough being among humans for-"

"Just kill me."

The words were soft but true. The strong swordsman who endured more torture and bloodshed than most, who taught them not to give up or change their ideals, the best of humanity, was begging for his life to end. A single tear rolled down his face as he spoke. "End my life. I should have died long ago. Please, end my torment Mithos. Let me die."

His old student just stared at him, stone still from the shocking plea. Even the Desian was surprised he said it. They suspected he'd want revenge on Kvar first, but it wasn't anywhere near his lips. Just death for himself. "Let me return to my family at last."

Mithos stayed perfectly still and silent for very long minutes before giving him a sweet, understanding smile. "I'm afraid I can't do that old friend. I need you to live to save the world."

"I don't care about the world." That was true. He was done caring. He cared once, and look where it got him. "Just let me die."

"Ah, but Anna did."

Hearing her name, Kratos froze, staring into the youth's eyes once again of his own accord. Knowing he had his attention, Mithos let go and got to his feet. "From all reports, Anna loved the world. As did your son I assume." The grip on the shoe and locket tightened. "Would you destroy the world they loved? Would you allow yourself to die and the world to crumble into ruin? That's what will happen if I end your life now."

The realization hit the man like a rock, eliminating any relief that could come to him. He was right. Dying may end his suffering, but it would make everyone else suffer until the world finally died. They wouldn't like this. They wouldn't want the world to end because of him. But they were gone. His wife and child were gone. He didn't know what they wanted. Eyes falling, he let despair consume him completely. He could not die and rejoin his family, but he didn't want to live without them.

"How about this." Mithos' voice became as soft as silk, enticing him to believe whatever was said. "You return to me, willingly, and serve as you once did. Help me revive Martel. Once she is back, I will have no more need of two worlds or the Eternal Sword. I will unite them once more, and then I will end your suffering. The worlds will be saved and your meaningless existence will end.

"Isn't that what you want? To save the world and rejoin all those you love?"

"... Yes..." Tears leaked out his eyes as Kratos accepted the terms. Return to his post in Mithos' plans to revive Martel, reunite the worlds, and then finally end his living hell of a life.

The age of lifeless beings didn't matter.

What happened after did not concern him.

The lives lost... the pains they suffered...

None of it mattered anymore.

He was no hero. He was merely a man, a broken man with nothing really to live for. Nothing but this.

Mithos smiled as sweet as honey. "Swear your allegiance to me Kratos my old friend. Help me once again. Stand at my side once more."

"I swear... to stay by your side..." Mithos was the closest thing he had to a son now. He couldn't turn his back on him again. This was all he had now. Nothing else.

"I'll hold you to your word Kratos Aurion." The half-elf watched him for a long moment, smiling to himself. His old teacher just stared vacantly before him, not aware or caring about anything. Seeing there was nothing else to be said or done with this man, he looked over to Pronyma. "Take my dear friend back to his old room to recover. He will need his strength."

"Of course my lord." She motioned to her helpers and they grabbed the limp man under his arms again, trying to put him back on his feet. It was truly a pathetic sight to see, ending with the dolls dragging him as gently as they could out of the sanctum. He would not move on his own accord for anyone.

They were nearly to the seraph's chambers when Yuan came running in. Breathless and more than a little worried, he stopped short of them. "What are you doing?! Unhand Kratos immediately!"

Pronyma glared at the older lord, motioning for her dolls to stop. "As much as I would like to, Lord Yuan, Lord Kratos refuses to stand on his volition. I am merely following Lord Yggdrasil's orders to take him to his rooms."

"I'll take him there," the man snapped, taking the man's sword away from one of the dolls before stepping right to his old friend's side. He slid an arm around his shoulders and supported him best he could on his feet, barely keeping the blade in hand. "You go entertain the Cardinals or something. And take your dolls with you."

"Understood, Lord Yuan." She said his name with some distaste, but left the two of them anyway. They never liked each other, and this was just one more reason to add to the pile.

Glaring once behind him to be sure she was gone, Yuan slowly helped the man walk to his old rooms. "Insufferable witch. If she wasn't so good at her job and easy for him to manipulate, Mithos would have killed her ages ago."

When Kratos didn't respond for even a second, his old friend worried. The swordsman was limp against him, but habit brought back his basic motor functions and started walking alongside him. Slow, weary. There was no life, nor purpose in his steps. Kratos was truly lost. He had more life in him five centuries back, when he seemed to be nothing more than a doll. Seeing and recognizing the pain he was in, Yuan tried to speak.

"I'm sorry... I know how much she meant to you..." Finally something appeared on the human's face: pain. A tremor went through the man's body just as they made it to the door. Yuan leaned the sword against the wall temporarily and fumbled with the latch as he spoke, slowly and in a soft tone. He needed that when Martel died. "I would say I know how you feel... But I can't. Martel and I... we never had..."

"Just stop."

Surprised, the half-elf looked at his friend. Misery and grief was all he could see, something never this pronounced before on that particular face. Not when they thought he was dying, not when Martel died, not ever. Kratos was always the strong one, their rock. Now... Yuan's heart ached for his friend, lost in his grief. He was halfway between stuttering and sobbing when he continued. "Pp... please... just... just stop. I... I can't..."

Yuan said nothing as he opened the door and helped him inside. The room was kept dust free over the years but nothing had changed. Mithos hated change. He set Kratos down in a chair briefly to grab his only other possession and close the door behind them, then looked back to his grieving friend. All he did was sit and stare at the objects in his hands. His last memories of the family he made.

Once they had privacy, he could no longer contain himself. The half-elf set the blade next to the chair moments before he wrapped his arms around the older man's shoulders, holding him tight. "It's alright to grieve Kratos. You loved them. They are more than worth your tears."

The old soldier didn't move, stone even in pain. Eventually Yuan felt his forehead collide with his shoulder and felt the man's shudders. "You don't understand... I failed them. I failed Anna... Lloyd... Noishe..."

The last name struck the half-elf by surprise. Noishe? He was there? Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the protozoan for some time. He was more Kratos' friend than anyone's. So he too left Mithos for Sylverant, and paid a hefty price. They had dreamed of the day he would change into a hero and purge the world of evil. Now...

"They're gone Yuan... I... I couldn't save them..." He could hear the man's hands tighten around his mementos. All that was left for him to hold on to. Kratos shuddered against him with every breath. "I couldn't prevent Anna from becoming... I... I killed her..."

"You did everything you could Kratos," Yuan tried to reassure him. "There was noth-"

"The blood on my sword is hers!" He pulled out of the hold, horrified at what he had done. His friend could hardly believe it. "When she lost her exsphere, she turned into a monster and turned on Lloyd! Our son! Our son..." A tremor overtook him, silencing him for a moment. His fists supported his head as it fell near his knees. "I... I had to kill her... to save our son... but I didn't... I didn't..."

Finally Yuan understood the full measure of what was happening to his old friend, what happened, and how deeply it wounded him. Kratos killed the only woman he ever loved to save their child, and he still failed to save him. Noishe died probably trying to fight off Anna's monstrous form while preventing the Desians from taking the boy away. They were overwhelmed on all sides, one of their own turned, and an innocent with no fighting ability was caught in the middle.

Kratos was once the greatest swordsman in all the lands, but when it counted he couldn't save the lives that mattered most to him. Their blood was on his hands, in every sense of the term.

"He was just three years old." The words barely came out, pained beyond anything either angel had experienced in four thousand years. "Just a baby. He didn't..."

Nothing but sobs filled the air for a long time. Yuan watched in anguish as his old friend continued to fall to pieces before him. The last time they met, he was happy, truly happy. If he could settle down with his family and lived a quiet life in peace, Kratos would have done it in a heartbeat. Titles and honors meant little to him. He'd seen enough horrors to fill hundreds of lifetimes. All he wanted was peace and a normal life at long last. Why couldn't Mithos just let them be? Kratos was finally happy, but now...

"I'm sorry," he finally murmured, not knowing what else to say. "They didn't deserve this fate. You don't deserve this fate. You were always the very best-"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

Yuan jolted back, taken off guard by the man's sudden outburst. A red eyed glare, desperate and pained, flew at him with a vigor he didn't know he was capable of. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT'S DONE TO ME!"

"What are you-"

"YOU! MITHOS! MARTEL! YOU ALWAYS SAID THAT!" Pain like he never saw before took over Kratos' face as he continued to yell. "I ALWAYS HAD TO LIVE UP TO THAT EXPECTATION! I'm not! I'm not... I am nothing more than a man! A man who did the best he could! And I... I failed... I failed..." His eyes fell to the floor, remembering something the half-elf could never know. "I'm not the best humanity has to offer. Just a piece... Just a man... not even that now..."

"Kratos..."

"Just leave."

Yuan could not believe what was coming out of the man's mouth now. All that time he was away... and now this? Kratos didn't look up at him for a moment. "Leave me alone Yuan. Let me be. I'm tired..."

His old friend just stared at him in silence for a very long time, not moving a muscle. When Martel died, he claimed he wanted to be alone, but in all honesty he didn't. He wanted something, anything to hold onto. Kratos then was torn between comforting Mithos his student and he, his best friend. In the end, Noishe remained with him until the boy had fallen asleep from his tears. Then Kratos switched positions with the protozoan, sitting with their backs against each other in silence. He was there, reminding him he wasn't alone in his grief, and that he would stay with them as long as he could.

Did he not want the same reassurance? Kratos was always different from them, and not just because of his humanity. Once again, Yuan felt he could do nothing for him, despite all the pain he suffered. Best of humanity... Maybe he was right. In the end, Kratos Aurion was just a man, one who now grieved for his family, and filled with guilt for causing their deaths. For causing more deaths than any man ever could take.

He was a broken man, likely beyond repair.

Closing his eyes in acceptance, Yuan stood up and prepared to depart. For a moment he debated taking Flameberg with him, just to ensure the old soldier didn't fall on his sword, but he could not deny his friend that right. As he touched the door's locks to leave, he finally heard Kratos speak again.

"You should have killed me when I lost my voice." The comment sent shivers down the angel's spine, not wishing to think of that long ago promise he failed to keep. "Had you killed me then, I never would have become Origin's seal."

That drew his full attention, snapping around in shock. Kratos was Origin's seal? He was the one responsible for keeping the pacts going all these years? The one the Renegades needed to find and kill to end Yggdrasil's reign? How could he-

"When Martel is revived and the worlds are reunited, Mithos has sworn to kill me. I have to live until then. To ensure the world Anna and Lloyd loved is truly saved. I can't see them again until then.

"This life... is hell."

Pain swelled in Yuan's heart as he realized the truth. His indecision earlier created a problem he could not begin to handle. A perfect conundrum. To press forward with his plans, he'd have to kill his best friend. His best friend who wanted to die, who would force himself to live until the worlds were united once more. He still believed every word that came from that insane child's mouth. Had he killed Kratos when he was supposed to, had he kept his promise, none of this would have happened.

"Yes. For all of us," Yuan admitted, leaving at last. There was much for him to think about, for both of them to think about. Wanting death but never reaching it, having happiness but having it ripped away suddenly, it made their lives seem meaningless. Happiness, friendship, love... they could have none of it. Even though they were angels, their lives were hell.

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><p>AN: In this head cannon, the legendary heroes used to say that Kratos was the very best humanity had to offer, and instead of giving him courage or a swelled head, he became troubled. When he met Anna and he told her about what they said, she stated that they had put a lot of pressure on him. She said he wasn't the very best of humanity because there were plenty of things others could do that he couldn't. She said he was just a man and to take it easy. She didn't have an expectation from him that he couldn't meet, because he already exceeded hers.

yeah, depressing. The second/last part is a lot more hopeful and just before the game starts. Laters!


	2. Spark of Hope

This takes place within hours of the game's beginning. As I've stated before, this would have been the end chapter of a long story where there would be a lot of questions. The part with Yuan here was meant to end a few questions, but I had to adapt it to stand on it's own. Roughly though, Kratos was once like the Chosens long ago, but Yuan did something, an experiment, to him that might have helped him regain his human emotions and some of his old abilities. That is not cannon, just an idea of mine. Other than that, hope you like!

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><p><strong><em>Spark of Hope<em>**

Yuan looked over the vial in his hand once more, wondering if his efforts five hundred years ago actually made any difference. The elder of Heimnell, did not like his demands for the mana leaf herb essence all those centuries ago, and it seemed his experiment in the end was useless. Slipping a few drops of the sap into Kratos' drinks over the period of five years may have brought him back to the surface, but it did not bring back his humanity.

Anna did. Anna and Lloyd.

Even fourteen years later, the old captain of the knights grieved for his wife and child. He had regained the stoic mask he wore constantly in the old days, but his heart was always in the past, if not gone. He was almost the same as before, almost. His old friend still wanted death more than anything.

Sighing to himself, Yuan put the vial away. Maybe it didn't work. Maybe it did. Who knew. Kratos was an odd case to begin with. He couldn't begin to understand how he actually functioned. There weren't any other cases like his, and there never would be another.

If he knew that another angelus project was being performed in Tethe'alla, what would he do? The old Kratos would do the same thing he did with Anna, except better. This version of him though...

He barely got word of him being sent back to Sylverant to perform his duty of leading the Chosen through the seals. Hopefully Botta would be able to stop the girl from receiving the Oracle without running into him. Yuan needed more time to think, to figure out how to get Kratos to release Origin's seal of his own accord. There may be a way to save his life if he released his mana, but knowing him, he wouldn't do that willingly. Not with Mithos' promise.

Had Anna or Lloyd lived, Yuan might have been able to convince him to join the Renegades. He should have tried when they were around. Without them though, Kratos would not move. He would stay with Mithos Yggdrasil forever so long as he believed the mad child's promise.

"The fool..." It pained him more than any could know, but it looked like their fates were set. Curse their fates! Kratos had to die.

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><p>The passage of time made no difference to his memory. Kratos found the cliff they fell from easily fourteen years after the fact. He could still hear and see everything that happened that night. A Desian helmet still sat where its owner fell, corpses torn and rotted away through time. Forcystus didn't bother to clean up after Kvar in the end. Other than the remains of his enemies, there were no signs of a skirmish there. Time took care of that.<p>

Face still as stone, he just stared at the site where so many lives ended. His hollow chest threatened to burst and break like it did that night, but his endless mission kept it at bay. A fact haunted him for fourteen years, and it had to be addressed. He never got a chance to bury Anna. Noishe and Lloyd's bodies were already gone by the time he got to her, but to not even bury his wife... Now there was nothing left of her.

Silently, the old soldier cast a grave spell where they fell, creating a shrine from the rock forming there. Three upright stones stood next to each other now, representing all he lost all those years ago. Barely breathing, Kratos removed an ornate knife from his belt and carved a name on each pillar. He was no craftsman so the work was crude and undeserving of them, but it served his purpose. Noishe... Anna... Lloyd... They finally had graves.

Under the largest headstone in the center, he carved in his family's crest: a sun barely peaking over the horizon with three stars almost in a row above it. His eyes remained dry as he softly sang a funeral rite from the old days, setting the souls of those lost to rest. It'd been so long since he heard it last, yet he managed to recite it perfectly from his memory.

Anna would have loved it.

As silence fell, he removed his glove and set it before him, exposing the simple wedding band he could not bear to remove. His eyes remained upon it for a long while, remembering the day Anna put it on his finger. It would never leave him, binding him more surely than the seal he became to retain Origin. Anna would never truly leave him.

Slowly, he sliced his dagger across his palm, enough to bleed on the blade but nothing more. "Blood for blood, a life is lost. I will end the one who forced my hand before I rest here with you. This I swear to you all my remaining days. You will be avenged."

The rocks did not answer him, and he did not seek one. Should this Chosen work out and be able to hold Martel's soul, he would at last be free. She could reason with Mithos and ensure the worlds were reunited. When his task was done, he would slay Kvar, then lay down at these stones to release his mana, finally receiving his eternal rest. That was all that mattered now. Avenging those he loved, returning his former student's sister to life, then finally dying after far too many lifetimes spent on him. This Chosen better be the right one.

Taking his time, Kratos buried the dagger before the stones, sealing his oath and ignoring his bleeding hand. Kneeling in solemn prayer, he begged the heavens for those three to be happy, wherever they were. He placed his hand one last time on the stones before him, closed his eyes, then forced himself to his feet. After all, there was work to be done. His heart did not matter so long as the task was done.

The seraph released his wings for the last time in what would likely be six months to a year, and flew towards the old seal for Verius, the place now known as the temple of Martel. The place he and Anna were married.

It now glowed with the light of Derris-Kharlan. The Oracle had been sent.

Flying high so not to be seen, the angel of death and guardian over Sylverant found a place he could land and approach the place on foot without anyone knowing where he came from. It was just another mission. Hopefully his last. He did not want to do this again.

As he came closer to the temple, he heard sounds of fighting. They were distant, and it was more of a slaughter. His eyes narrowed with distaste. Renegades again no doubt. He had his suspicions on who was telling them about Cruxis' activities, but he didn't want to endanger him on a mere guess. He lost enough as it was.

The man, now acting as a mercenary for a cover, raced towards the temple's stairs. A dead priest met his feet there, pulling away his hope. This Chosen was supposed to be the best match yet to Martel. She had to live or he'd never be allowed to die. Drawing his sword, he took the stairs two at a time, and jumped immediately into the fray at the temple's door. Slicing down two false Desians was child's play, but a large one was attacking children attempting to fight back.

They weren't doing well.

In a flash Kratos parried a killing blow, saving the one in red's life. A grown child playing with wooden swords should not be fighting a man with real blades. He cast the teen a cold glance over his shoulder. "This opponent is too much for you. Get out of the way."

"What?!" The mercenary ignored the kid's tone and leapt into the fray, easily dicing up the large half-elf before him. Another Renegade attempted to interfere, but the children intervened, mostly the duel swordsman he wasn't impressed with moments ago. Trying to prove his worth no doubt, but it hardly mattered. The fight was over.

The Renegade squad leader (Botta wasn't it?) pulled his men back, wisely wary of him. "I never thought you'd show up. Damn..." He made a motion with his hand to his men, making the right call. "Retreat for now!"

He and his comrades fled the scene, not even bothering to retrieve their dead though they did grab their injured. Kratos let them go, showing neither favor nor displeasure at their flight. He knew little of what their goals were other than to stop Martel's resurrection, but he did know they did not kill without reason. Renegades had a lot more self-control than Desians. He'd let them live.

"Amazing..."

"This guy's incredibly strong!"

"Y...yeah... I... I suppose so..."

Hearing the youth in their voices, the mercenary turned to look over the group. It was almost surprising how young they were. Lloyd would have been about their age now...

"...Is everyone alright?" Quickly he assessed them, checking for injuries from ten feet away. This was a very strange group of kids: two humans who seemingly had nothing in common, and a young half-elf boy. He held a kendama and recently cast spells with it. His silver hair betrayed his elven blood, but he stood beside the other two without a hint of fear or anger. The blond teenaged girl wore mostly white and carried two Chakrams, hardly used during the fight. She had less experience than the young mage. The last of them, and likely the oldest, was a late teenaged boy clad in a red jacket with white ribbons dangling behind him. He was the one carrying the wooden blades, and the one who took the most damage. His toys would need replacing soon from defending the others. The oldest glared sourly away from him, his pride hurt more than his body. Looked like that needed diminishing anyway. "Hmmm. No one seems to be hurt."

That kid switched his annoyance back to him, as if saying 'thanks for noticing all these little cuts and bruises on me bub.' It soon changed to interest though, seeing something he couldn't fathom. Ignoring the ungrateful child, Kratos turned his attention to the elderly woman who somehow managed to survive the attack without any signs of fighting. Relief and gratitude shown on her face. "How can I ever thank you for saving the Chosen?"

"Oh yes! Thank you for saving me!" The blond bowed graciously, putting a smile on her face despite her trembling hands.

He glanced back to the girl, his heart dropping a bit. Why did she have to be so young? He had hoped the Chosen hadn't arrived yet and these were merely foolish onlookers. Apparently not. "... I see. So this girl is the next Chosen."

"That's right!" Her attention flew from what just happened to what was to occur in an instant. Well, at least she was dedicated to this position. "I have to go accept the Oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now."

"What trial?" the one in red ask curiously. Clearly this boy did not know anything.

"The monsters, I would assume. An evil presence radiates from inside this chapel." '_Thanks to the Oracle_,' Kratos mentally added. This used to be a place of love and learning. The place he and Anna made their pact to each other. But whenever a world declined and a Chosen was selected, even this sacred place became the roost for monsters. They thrived wherever mana was thin.

The grandmother continued where he left off. "Yes, that is correct. The Chosen is to receive judgment from heaven."

If Kratos was one to laugh, he would have then. Judgment indeed. Her presence, the mana he could feel off of her, was very similar to Martel's. She was worthy. Whether she'd survive the journey was another matter. The lady kept on. "But the priests who were to accompany her fell at the hands of the Desians."

A light lit on the older boy's face. "Then I'll take on the job of protecting Colette!"

"Lloyd?" Kratos' heart stopped when the woman spoke the lad's name. What did she say? "... I would be uneasy with just you."

For the first time since arriving there, the 4000 plus some years old man took a good long look at the boy in question, stunned in silence. He had to be somewhere around seventeen years old, with only a little more height growing to do before filling out. He wore suspenders to keep up the pants weighted down with his two sword belts, and heavy gloves for one reason or another. One of them had a white bandage wrapped around a part of it for some unknown reason, but he didn't worry over it. What struck him most was his face. It looked familiar, like a memory from long ago, and yet so fresh in his mind. Lloyd's eyes were identical to his own, though without the careworn look he always bore. His hair though was the same color as Anna's.

He looked like his Lloyd. But it couldn't be...

Possibilities tried to swarm his mind, coming from the same age to features to what could have been, but he forced himself to put that aside to confirm at least his name. "Your name is Lloyd?"

The kid broke away from his irritated conversation with the woman Phaidra to answer him, with an attitude. He could almost hear an echo as the lad spoke. "Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name?"

It was the same. The exact same phrase Anna said to him when he first met her at the Asgard Ranch. This boy... could easily be his lost son.

But he didn't know his father.

It hurt. After so many years of believing, knowing, his family was dead, then being faced with the possibility of being wrong, it still hurt for his hopes to be dashed with such a simple statement.

'_Who are you?_'

He turned away from him and got to work as a seraph of Cruxis. This couldn't be his Lloyd. He couldn't hope to be wrong. He was dead. He had to be. Else... he abandoned his son. He never could do that. He would sooner die than give up his last reason for living. All he had now was this: the mission given to him by Yggdrasil. "I am Kratos, a mercenary."

END

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><p>AN: and that is how I would have ended it! Some lines are straight from the game, others from the manga, and a lot more is conjecture. Aurion actually means something along the lines of 'rising sun' so I invented that crest. I thought it'd be poetic if Lloyd said the same thing as Anna did when they first met, proving that personality wise, he's a lot like his mom. Also feel that Kratos would have honored Noishe in death, being his most loyal companion that survived everything. As for the temple of Martel also being the place he and Anna got married, I thought since the summon spirit of the heart would eventually be there, wouldn't it be neat if that was originally the case? Maybe someone in Tethe'alla had dragged the spirit across the two worlds, thinking they made a summon spirit. If it's the temple of the heart, then logically that would be the place people got married, or 'made pacts with each other'. It would be long before Dirk moved into the area so they couldn't do two birds with one stone.

Anywho, that's the would-be ending to 'Becoming Human'. *sigh* ah well, I have other long ones I'm planning on finishing. I had to trash the prequel 'Becoming an Angel' because I couldn't fill in the blanks and work out the kinks. Without it though, and without motivation, couldn't get this one done either. Didn't have a first chapter figured out either. If you want to know where I would have gone after this, Read 'What Clinched It'.

Hope you've liked! leave a review.


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